Municipalities asked to prepare waste management action plans in J&K

Jammu, Jan 15 (PTI) Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday directed municipalities to prepare comprehensive waste management plans and asked them to draw up projections on future waste generation, officials said.

On average, 450 grams per person per day of waste is generated in big cities and 300 grams is generated in smaller towns in the Union Territory, they said.

Chairing a meeting of the housing and urban development department (H&UDD), Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo asked for comprehensive and component-wise waste management plans for both the municipal corporations — Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) — and other municipalities.

The meeting was convened to take stock of measures being taken up to build capacity of different urban local bodies (ULBs) in the processing of solid and liquid waste on scientific lines, an official spokesperson said.

Dulloo directed the municipal commissioners of SMC and JMC to formulate scientific plans for both cities for treating the solid and liquid waste generated daily by the households.

He instructed them to prepare a projection based on future population and the expected waste from them, the J-K government spokesperson said.

Dulloo also advised them to make simultaneous plans for the treatment of legacy waste in order to clear the sites of this untreated garbage.

He asked them to identify feasible locations for the establishment of Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) for solid waste, compost units or bio-CNG plants for liquid waste and dumping sites for inert waste.

“This task requires all seriousness and dedication on the part of the department to fully rid our cities and towns of untreated waste and garbage,” the chief secretary said, asking the officers to use their writ to act against the violators as per laws in force.

Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD, Mandeep Kaur, said facilities for both solid and liquid waste treatment are being created all over J-K in addition to inviting tenders for treatment of legacy waste on scientific lines.